Mind Demon's Path of Domination

Reol\'ran had once told Mark that all living beings, no matter what kind—humans, ants, or bees—all had a kind of mental scape hidden within them since birth. It was supposedly a higher dimensional space that one couldn\'t steal even if they kill others.

It was in that mental scape that the soul of a living being existed.

The Soul Space that all Demons had, in contrast, was a more evolved form of this formless mental scape. A space where the demons could store souls into if they just knew how to. And the World Space, that Mark now had, was a step beyond even Soul Spaces.

To create a World Space, a mental scape had to absorb a World Core.

Mark blinked.

What was a World Space?

It had the characteristics of a normal world but it lacked many things. There was no sun in the skies, no moon. And there was not much greenery in the land.

Suddenly, Reol\'ran\'s form blurred into form beside him. Her white hair and beautiful visage brightened the area itself. She looked calm, surprisingly, for how flustered she had been.

"Nice to see you," he said, smiling.

She cleared her throat. No longer acting like a flustered woman, she was now Reol\'ran the warrior. Calm, poised, will like obsidian.

"Indeed."

Mark couldn\'t hide a cocky smile from appearing on his face.

"I thought you didn\'t want to see Yuri and Dona. I am going towards them. Why are you following me?"

Reol\'ran blankly looked at him, not appreciating the sarcastic tone.

She said, "Consider that it is their fortune that they can lay eyes upon me. I understood. There is no reason for me to go out of my way to avoid them, I shouldn\'t be the one cowering out of this, they should be afraid of me."

Mark chuckled.

"Whatever that you want." He suddenly grew serious. "Tell me about the uses of this World Space. What can it do better than the Soul Space? I am feeling more and more that I should have sold the Core and gotten the (5x Seal of Destiny and 5x Portal Key) deal."

Reol\'ran rolled her eyes. "The grass always looks greener on the other side. And you are ignorant."

"Teach me, the Wisdomous One."

Reol\'ran covered a sudden smile with her hand. She said, "Yes if you had gotten the 5x Seals of Destinies, you could have gotten a whole of 5 new demonic tricks. That would have made your repertoire bigger for sure."

Mark\'s eyes shined. So World Cores were indeed better than 5 abilities. What could it do? Other than this flashy \'I have a world inside me\' thing.

Reol\'ran continued: "This World Space is of course better than some 5 abilities. Those are not impossible to get but you might never have the chance to gain a World Core again. You can never enter a World that only has people weaker than you, that\'s impossible."

"Really?" Mark grimaced. "I wanted to enter weaker worlds and farm some World Cores."

She looked at him sideways. "Now that you are a Tier 2 creature, you will never be able to enter a World where there are only Tier 1 Creatures or below. Any world you can enter will have at least one Tier 2 creature. If you try to build a mega-dungeon scenario there, the World Will would fight you in its own ways, too."

World Apocalypse Destiny, Mark remembered.

When a World faces a scenario that threatens its existence, it will choose some natives to bless with tremendous luck. They would become Sons or Daughters of heaven and they would grow stronger at an immense rate.

Sun Jin Hu—the youth that had the Kill Slave Hunter Ability—was probably such a person. At least, Reol\'ran thought so. Sun Jin Hu really had the potential to save that World, too. Mark had entered the story and ruined it for them, becoming the biggest winner in the Hunter World.

If he tried to enter a different world and steal its Core, he would have to face people like Sun Jin Hu. Maybe much deadlier than him.

"One World Core alone is a big thing, so don\'t grow too greedy and ge blinded. A warrior with a blind eye is no warrior," she said. "Hone what you have to perfection. Do not be deluded by your false strength. You are weak, puny."

She leveled her gaze at him. "Don\'t forget the Sufferings on your way."

Mark started. Feeling his heart sink. Then, he nodded.

"I haven\'t forgotten."

[Sufferings of Misfortune]

[1st Suffering—Suffering of Man]

[Remaining Time: 0Y/12M/1D/0H/22M/11S]

"Good. So, your focus should be on surviving that and not playing with my lips when I am not expecting it."

Mark smiled. "Now tell me what the World Space can really do for me."

Reo\'lran stretched her hands wide. "This whole world itself is a huge deal. Can you see the oceans surrounding it? That\'s the representation of your Mindpower. Now think of it. What will happen if you pour a tank full of Black Water into this Ocean?"

"You mean…" Mark asked, stunned.

"Yes! This is a space that you can bring anything into. If you bring a big tank of Black Water in, you will basically have near-infinite Mindpower. The moment you are exhausted, the Black Water will automatically replenish you."

Mark was still reeling. Didn\'t that mean he could use Alchemic Shapeshifting without worry of using up his energy?

Doesn\'t that mean that... while other Middle Demons would not dare to use Ultimate Demonic Arts early in fights due to its consumption, he didn\'t have to worry about it at all?

Won\'t he be unstoppable?

A chill went down his spine and he gulped.

"Really?"

"Yep. As long as you bring a container full of Black Water here, you no longer have to worry about Mindpower consumption while in battle."

Her words echoed in his mind again and again. He had infinite Mindpower in a sense.

That was already better than five demonic tricks!!!

"What else can the World Space do?" he asked, excited.

She smiled. "Isn\'t the (5x Seal of Destiny and 5x Portal Key) deal better?"

"No, you are stupid!" Mark laughed. "Tell me more about this."

"Nwo, you are stupid," Reol\'ran rolled her eyes, mimicking him with a cold harrumph. Then, she continued: "Another fact about the World Space is. You have an incredibly vast storage ability. You can store people, things, and anything you want inside it."

"I already know that. Anything more?"

They suddenly stopped walking. They had reached Yuri and Dona, the two women were meditating with closed eyes. Backs against each other.

Dona meditating… was such a funny sight.

Reol\'ran calmly spoke, "There is one more use to having a World Space. This is something that most people don\'t know about but I know. A normal demon can\'t have as many demonic tricks as he wants, there is usually a limit. At most, a Middle Demon can have like 15 demonic tricks. Anymore, and he would explode."

Mark frowned. He planned to be extremely versatile and for that, he planned to gain a lot of abilities.

"What is my limit?"

"Before you absorbed the World Space, just fifteen. Now?" She shrugged. "As much as you want. As long as you can get it, you can have as many Tricks as you want."

Mark nodded, relieved.

The World Space was indeed amazing, he wouldn\'t trade it for any ability. Then, he thought of Clown\'s Circus. Maybe… if more of that kind of abilities were out there, he would prefer to have them, too.

It was so overpowered. But still, the World Space was a superb treasure.

"They are sleeping," he said. "So, tell me. Now that I am a Middle Demon, how do I evolve and become an Upper Demon?"

"I have the urge to smack your head," she said, frowning. "You haven\'t even reached the Pinnacle in Physique and Mind yet. And you already want to evolve?"

Looking at his shameless face, she clicked her tongue. "Well, let me tell you one thing. Tier 0 doesn\'t count as a true stage, it\'s too weak to even be counted. And you might be feeling really proud after becoming a Middle Demon merely a dozen months since you were born, but don\'t be proud."

"Don\'t be proud?" Mark squatted down beside Dona and Yuri. "It is a reasonably prideworthy accomplishment. Let me be a bit proud."

"Think of it this way, Mark," she said. "Tier 0 to Tier 2 creatures don\'t have sentience. They are mindless creatures. Unintelligent and idiotic. You had it easy from Tier 0 to Tier 2 because even mindless creatures can evolve to that level. And of course, it will be a bit harder now that you are going to enter levels where even the smart fail."

She left something unsaid.

You even have to worry about the Suffering on the side.

Mark frowned. True. There was nothing prideworthy in achieving something that animals without a mind could achieve. I am becoming less and less strict with myself as I grow stronger. I should be more careful.

"So what should I do?"

"First of all, reach the Pinnacle of Tier 2. We will talk after that. I know something in the Demon World that can help you a lot. For that, you will have to head to a Demon City."

Mark nodded. I have to fight.

Suddenly, Yuri opened her eyes, staring at Mark. Reol\'ran had vanished from his side.

Mark sighed, Reol\'ran really hated Yuri and Dona—she was trying to suppress it but Mark could feel the urge to kill emanating from her. Killing intent. She was holding herself back while staring at Yuri and Dona.

She felt repulsed at even talking to them.

"You finally arrived," Yuri said, squinting. "You look… human."

Mark shrugged, smiling. "This is my soul. It looks like how I picture myself mentally."

Yuri looked at his naked torso, packed muscles, and then his male organ.

"I like this appearance. A… lot," she said. "How do you look in the real world now that you evolved?"

"I haven\'t checked myself. So how\'s it going here."

"No lab, nothing to do. Just boring. I have a lot of questions, though."